1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a through-the-door water dispenser for refrigerators.
2. Description of the Related Art
The most developed current domestic refrigerators comprise a system for producing refrigerated water which can be procured without having to gain access to the refrigerator interior. In practice, a connection to the domestic water supply is provided, together with a hydraulic circuit inside the refrigerator (positioned to cool the water passing through it and provided with a delivery port for the refrigerated water) and a valve member operated by the user to obtain the refrigerated water. In these refrigerators it is normal to provide inside the refrigerator door a compartment open towards the refrigerator exterior and containing this delivery port and an underlying support surface for the glass or the like to be filled with the refrigerated water. The compartment is hence of appreciable depth. The electromagnetically controlled delivery valve member is opened by the user, who manually operates an electric switch.
This briefly described solution has certain drawbacks: the door presenting the compartment has to be specially constructed, in the sense that being so different from conventional doors it demands its own production cycle and specific equipment; the presence of the compartment has considerable negative influence on the refrigerator appearance; the glass or container receiving the refrigerated water cannot be greater than a certain size given that for constructional and appearance reasons the compartment itself cannot exceed given dimensions; from the hygiene aspect the known solution can be highly criticized, being open to the air and as such accessible to insects, dust and dirt in general; and, in certain cases, the nuisance of having firstly to place the glass in the compartment and then open the delivery valve.
An object of this invention is to provide a refrigerated water dispenser which only modestly disturbs the visual impact of the refrigerator, which does not have an insect, dirt and dust accessible compartment in which to place the glass or container, which does not require two operations to deliver the refrigerated water, which does not require substantial production modifications for the door in which the dispenser is installed, which is of simple construction, considerable functionality and ease of operation, and which enables the user to use glasses or containers of any dimensions.
These and other objects are attained by a water dispenser for a refrigerator door having a water delivery port. The dispenser includes a base mounted to the door for forming a compartment enclosing the water delivery port. The base has an aperture for accessing the interior of the compartment and the water delivery port. A cover is pivotably supported by the base and is biased for closing the aperature.